Science (and engineering) is often considered a highly exclusive domain, with participation requiring significant education and practical experience. One of the ways that science and engineering maintains its exclusivity is through its highly specialized language and rhetorical conventions. For example, the scientific paper has traditionally had a gatekeeping …
In her paper “‘Here We Show’: Teaching Engineering Students to Reason with an Audience,” to be delivered at ProComm 2020, Dr. Suzanne Lane argues that learning to use first-person discourse alongside with active voice is an important step in becoming an engineer.
Although the use of …
How aware are you of your cognitive biases and how they can impact your reception and delivery of communication? In a paper to be delivered at ProComm2020, Quan Zhou categorizes and outlines over twenty cognitive biases that can play into the communication act.
The Cognitive Bias …
Dear Colleagues,
In consideration for the safety of our participants, continued challenges to global travel, large gatherings, and reduced academic funding, IEEE ProComm 2020 has switched to a completely online format. While we are disappointed not to be meeting you at Kennesaw, we hope the event …
The March and June issues of the IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication published reviews of Engineering Justice (Leydens & Lucena, 2018) and Technical Communication After the Social Justice Turn (Walton, Moore, & Jones, 2019). The past few weeks have brought the issue of social justice …
The new issue is now available online.
Research Articles:
Go or No Go: Learning to Persuade in an Early-Stage Student Entrepreneurship Program, by C. Spinuzzi, D. Altounian, and G. P. Pogue
Early-stage accelerator programs teach new entrepreneurs how to identify and exploit venture opportunities. In doing so, they implicitly …
When communicating about risk, the hope is to craft appropriate messaging to motivate appropriate action and understanding by the public. This is often challenging, particularly when there is so much scientific uncertainty involved in the risk. Amidst the COVID-19 crisis, many messages have been developed …
Photo: Presse- und Informationsamt der Bundesregierung
Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, we have witnessed many stark examples of strong, responsible leadership – and some examples of not so responsible leadership. This leadership has been demonstrated through legislative action, but also through acts of communication …
Times of crisis can provide stark reminders of the importance of language and communication. At a moment in time when the majority of us are – to varying degrees – practicing social isolation in an attempt to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading, how we …
Employers say adaptability is vital in professionals at every level. However, for engineers, breaking into to new technical areas (even adjacent to those you know well) can be slow and painful. Whether you’re an engineering consultant having to come to grips with a new technology, …
